Improvement in direct-acting engines



y tint-di iatc SIDNEY F. SHELBOU-RNE,- OF YORK, AND CHARLES E. EMERY, OF

BROOKLYN,

NEW YORK.

Leners Patent No. 109,951, data neeember 6,1870; undated Nwemher 2'8, i810.

` IMPROVEMENT IN DIRECT-'ACTING ENGINES.V

.The Schedule referred to in thou Letters Patent and making part o f the name.

Be it known that-we, SIDNEY F. SunLBoUnxE, of the city, county, and State of New York, and CHARLES E.- EMERY, of Brooklyn, in said State, have invented u. newfand improved Engine for Drilling Rock and Other Purposes; and ive do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ol' the saine, reference being had to the accompanying drawing making part ofthis specification.

Uur ilnln'oveuieuts are especially applicable to engines in which the work is much greater during one stroke thun the other, such, tor instance..a|s are employed for lifting rock-d1 ills which tall h grn\ity,nnd those operating single acting-pumps. bnoli engines usually have vertical cyhulers, and the adaptation shown in thedrawing is more particularly designed for drilling purposes, in which the greater work is done ou the'up-stroke ofthe piston.

Our invention has for its object to furnish means for separately regulating the a cunt of steam admitted' to each end of the cylinder wi hout inpany way-interfering with the-free esca-peet the exhaust-steam; also tot'urnish means for checking the descent of the main piston when near the end of its strokej Our invention consists'- v First,'-inconstructing the main valve of the engine vwith a 'steam-chamber which communicates with the upper end only of the steam-cylinder, and receives steamthrough a separate passageegniated by-a throttle-valve.

Second, in the combination ot the -above-named throttle-valve with two others, in suchma'nner that the speedof the piston in either or both directions can belregulated readily and etliciently.

Third, in a novel combination ot' a throttle-valve with a passage leading from the lower main cylinderport to a cushion chalnberiu the bottom of' the cylinder.-

In the drawing- Figure 1 represents a vertical cross-section through the cylinder, piston, and main valve;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the cylinder, showing the steam-chest in section;

lfipnnev 3 is ahorizontal cross-section through the cylinder, valves, and pipe;A

.Figure 4 is a view of the bottom of the main valve;

and

.Figure 5 is a longitudinal cross-section of the same. A is the main cylinder;

B, the main piston;

O, the main valve;

D D, valve-.operating pistons;

E, steam-chest;`

F, upper cylinder-port;

G, lower cylinder-port;

B, main steam-pipe; and

The piston B is represented in the drawing as it is constructed for drilling purposes, and has connected -toit two hollow piston-rods, one extending up land the other down, through shining-boxes in the heads of the -cylindeis The nniin valve is constructed like anordiuury valve, with the addition ot a chamber, L, which extends along the top and sido-ofthevalve, and covers the additional opening K in the valve-seat. l

Steam is admitted through main steam-pipe H, passes through a cock or valve, c, and enters the strani-chest through a pipe,`J, containing a valve or cock, b. v i

Steam also passes through a brauch pipe, N, and valve or cocka to passage K in the valve-seat..

The Amain valve C is operated by auxiliary pistons D and D, as shown, or by a valve-stem extending V'through one. end of the .chest in a well-known manner.-

-lt will be observed that as the main valve is moved in either direction, the'iexhaust-steam passes through the central cavity to the exhaust-port and pipe l iu the usual way. f Whe-n -valve O is moved up steam enters port G directly from the steam-chest Eu When valve O is moved down steam enters port liy from the chamber L, being supplied to the saine from opening K, as before explained.

The bottom cylinder-port G I-iit divided into two branches, one of which, f, exteiidsto the bottom ofthe cylinder, and the other, e, enters. the cylinder' several inches above the bottom.

The pist-on B is -made quite thick iu a verticaldirection, .and is preferably packed with a number of small rings so arranged that one of them, at least, is above the opening e when the piston is on the bottom ofthe cylinder'.

In. the branch f of the lower cylinder-port is placed a throttle-valve, d, vby .means of which the available area offmay bc'reduced to any desired extent.

The particular arrangement shown in the drawing was designed for drilling rock. The drill-rod passes upward through thc hollow piston-rods, and a lifterattac-hed thereto is lifted by-a cross-head placed o n the top of the upper piston-rod.

'When so constructed the operation is as follows:

Supposethe piston to be attire bottom of the cyl luder. In practice there wouldbe, in this position of the piston, a little distance between the cross-head on the top\,of piston-rd and the lifter on the drill-A rod. .The valve O being raised, and valves b and c opened, steam enters the lower end i' the cylinder through ,vale d and port f, port e being closed by the pistoin 1n practice, the valve d is -kept very nearly closed, so that the steam enters slowlyand lifts the piston slowly, until it-pas'ses thev port e, wlien'a'I full opening isobtained, and the-.pistou rises rapidly. -At or about the time the bottom-off 'the piston passes port e the `cross-headon piston-rods'trikes the lifter on drill-rod, giving it a blowA or-jarwhich ylocseiis the drill from thev rock.- rllie intensity of this jar may Abe regulatedviu two ways, irst, by adjusting the valxe d so as to cause the piston' torise atirst with greater or less rapidity, and second, and preferably, by adjusting the position of the lifter 'on the vdrill-bar vso that the cross-headl strikesit after the piston4 has moved the proper d istancc'labove e tol gatherthe required momentum. The drill is lifted-attire-desired speed by regulating-valve lr, and, when the pistonapproaclies the top :of the cylinder, ,the valvefO is 'moved'down' by aprn'opriate means, and the piston-is forced' down by steam admitted through Land K, and the speed of descent may he regulated by means of valvev al Pr'actieally, we' prefer to admit suiitient ysteain'to cause the. piston to, descend with greater speed thanlth'e drill-A rod, so that the latter .is in no way hindered by the; former, but is free to-fall by gi'avityaiid 'give a'fulL and eectiVebIoW. As the pistondescends rapidly', the exhaust-steam passes out-freely until said piston passes port e; their the steam remainng-belmv e is rapidly compressed and can only esi-ape thro'iigh valve. il, which is, as before said, kept4 very nearly closed, and the hack pressure thlis produced fornisav cushion which Vgradually bringsthe. pistoni-crest. This action is assisted by easilng the nia'in valve Ito. be lii'ted'at or immediately after the t-iin'e that the piston closes the port e, so that the escape. ofthe confipressed exhaust-steam, through '(1, is ,retarded hy live steam troni the chest, which afterward enters through (l and lifts the piston again, as bei'ore explained y Valve d may v he easily adjusted so thatilie piston I will never emananoe its npsstroke so quickly 'as to catch the drill-har iirits desrent.

1t isnot--ncw to make ai-ylinder-port intwo branches, vlike c and f. l 1n Barrctts patent the two branches are shown, and in the longer oneis a check-valve, closing to pressure from the cylinder and openingto pressure from the steam-chest. Suche. check-valve would then, when in ordcr,elose the passa-ge .corresponding to f tightly as the piston approaches the saine, and open wide during the return stroke ofthe piston. The arrangement sliownin the drawing is an important improvement for the reason that it checks the motion ot' the piston in both directions, ,which is what vis ilesired iii a` drilling-engine, and, besides, the. .throttlevalve il cannot get out of order. Check-valves often stick, and, at other times, do not seat,V on account of the accidental introduction offoreign substances.- Such an accident in an engine operating as-herein described,4 would-.cause the`piston to break out-the bottom cylinder-head, and perhaps destroy thc'cylinder.

Vhen our invention is used for a pumping-engine the main valve-is made substantially as 'shown and described. '.lllie-piston-rods may Ibe of ordinary kind, and for slow-working enginesthe cylinder-ports may beofthe ordinary construction., vIn quick-working botlrends of the cylinder.

lThe speed of the piston during its iipstroke being regulated by valve'- b, and.during the down-stroke by valve a, tlcabsolute speed' of both ends may be regu-- latedby means ofv'alve c without changing thegrela the proper descending speed, the di'erence inspeed lliefopening K in the valve-seat is sometimes put yabove l, as shown at K', and the valve-seat is raised.

passage. In such case .the chanibenL is elongated vertieallyto coverl said port at alltimes, and the side branch shown is omitted.

The' valves a. b c can be placed in any convenient positions in their respective pipes so long as they hear the saine relations -to eai-li :other as are sh-wii. ln some cases -the hrani'li-pipe N is omitted, and the throttle-valve applied within or at the Iside oi' the rin-st tothrotile' the steam directly from4 the steamcliest hefmejit enters K. vIn such case the valve c is unnecessary, arid the speed i f,tlie.piston.in both directions will bc, changed by adjusting b.

We claim as new, and desire' to secure by Letters Patentthe chamber L, a throttle-valve n, and a valve-seat, provided with the passages or ports F andK, whereby the quantify of steam admitted to one end-ot' the cyl in'der may be' regulated -as desired, and independently of that admitted to the other, substantially as herein specilied. j t i 2. 'lhe combination and arrangement of the valves ai, b, and c with each other, the inain steam-pipe H, and cylinder-ports F andG, substantially as described.

3. '.liie. throttle-vale d, arranged in passage f, and constructed and operating substantially asl described.

SIDNEY F. SHELBOURNE. CHAS. E. EMERY..

Witnesses:

T. B. BEEC'HER, W. A. Summe.

engines of any kind the double passags'ciand f and valve d may, with advantage, heviiitroduced buone or4 tive speed iii the two directions. For instanceif the thepiston will' descen'dabout Itivice'as fast as it is the-engine is' working, that be set to give the piston being regulated entirely during the up-stroke by means so that steam can he brought in from the side to said 1. ThebOmhination of a main valve, provided with 

